Littler had raced into a 5-0 lead from the off without ever appearing overly troubled by his opponent, who appeared to be slightly limping throughout his trips to the board.
The woes showed no signs of dissipating after the break, as The Nuke continued to sweep Wade aside leg-by-leg.
It would not be until the tenth leg that Wade would get on the board, but it was too little, too late as Littler strode away in the dying embers to win comprehensively in front of a capacity crowd.
"It's one I've wanted to win," Littler told ITV after his win.
"It's my third time here, I came here two years ago as a 16-year-old, last year I was in the quarter-final and now I've gone two better this year to win it.
"I had a job to do, I just wanted to pick up the trophy and it's one I can tick off the list now.
"I'm looking at the Premier League, making sure I'm in the top four and making sure I go to the O2. I've got the Pro Tour, the Players Championship and back to the Premier League. It's going to be a long few weeks."
Littler was far superior on the trebles throughout, as well as hitting nine maximum 180s compared to Wade's one.
The youngster averaged 100.45 without really getting out of third gear, while Wade's average hovered around 88.
The 41-year-old Wade, who last won the tournament in 2021, earned his first UK Open title in 2008, the year after Littler was born.
"He absolutely bashed me to bits but what can you do against that?" Wade told ITV.
"He was the far superior player, as much as it kills me to admit it, but it is what it is. For me, it's a great step in the right direction.
"Fair play to Luke - at the moment, he's probably the best or the second-best darts player in the world comfortably."
Littler had earlier beaten Welshman Jonny Clayton 6-11 in the first semi-final of the night.
It was world number five Clayton who landed the earlier blows, at one point leading the contest 4-3, but Littler remained calm after an early case of the jitters to rally on to victory with 10 180s and 41 ton-plus visits in the semi-final.
Wade - who knocked out world number one Luke Humphries in the quarter-finals - looked on fine form in his semi-final, blazing through Northern Ireland's Josh Rock with a comprehensive 11-2 victory with 50 per cent accuracy on the doubles.
Beaten semi-finalists take home £30,000 in prize money, while runner-up Wade collects £50,000 and Littler earns a £110,000 first prize.